


A moment to breathe

by SecretEvillustrator



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Akuma, Angst?, F/M, I don't know, Lovesquare, Marinette vs akuma, Racism, Reveal
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-26
Updated: 2019-07-14
Packaged: 2019-08-29 13:11:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,346
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16744624
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SecretEvillustrator/pseuds/SecretEvillustrator
Summary: She crumpled the paper in her hand, feeling frustrated, angry and sad all at once. Her sobs echoed throughout the locker-room, but she didn’t care, she let herself cry.She should have heard the fluttering of wings. She should have seen what was coming. But she didn’t. Not until the black butterfly landed on the crumpled piece of paper in her hand.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so this is one of my first fanfics. It's the longest one I have written so far at least. I don't really know what I want to do with this story, but I finally decided to upload it. We'll see if I end up deleting it or doing a follow up fluff piece.
> 
> Hope you guys like it <3
> 
> Oh, by the way.  
> \----- means change of character.  
> \- change of scene  
> Writing in cursive are thoughts.

When she came home she hadn’t even taken the time to turn on the light before throwing herself in the bed (quite the accomplishment when you need a stepladder to reach your bed). She snuggled up against her cat pillow, taking comfort in the familiar sensation. She heard her phone go off and rose from the position.

**Alya**

**5:34 PM: Hey gurl, are you alright?**

**Marinette**

**5:35 PM: Hey Alya, don’t worry. I’m okay. It really doesn’t matter.**

**Alya**

**5.35 PM: …**

**5.35 PM: Are you sure? Those guys were really being assholes.**

**Marinette**

**5.35 PM: I’m fine, really. I’m just a bit down. I’ll get over it.**

**5.36 PM: As you said, they were just being assholes and it’s not like it’s the first time something like that has happened to me.**

She put her phone away, ignoring as it went off again. She couldn’t deal with it right now. She saw Tikki looking at her worriedly as she drifted off to sleep.

\-----

Adrien leaned his head against the car-door. He was still a bit tired from yesterdays shoot, which had caused him to miss most of his later classes, and it might not have helped that he went on patrol with his lady right after. Ladybug had been a bit off, but when he tried to question her about it she had just told him it was personal issues. Meaning; she couldn’t tell because it revealed too much about her identity. It irked him that he couldn’t help her.

The car stopped by the school and Adrien stepped out and walked up to Nino who was sitting at the stairs.

“sup’ dude” Nino greeted.

For some reason Nino seemed… tense?

“Hey Nino, what’s up?”

“Nothin’ much, just waiting for Al’”

Adrien didn’t really know what to do. He could sense something was wrong, but it didn’t seem like Nino wanted to talk about it. As it didn’t seem like he would get any further with the conversation Adrien sat down next to Nino.

After a few minutes he spotted Alya coming up to them. Adrien smiled at her.

“Hey Alya” Adrien greeted.

“Hey…”

Why was everyone acting so glum?

“Hey Al’, have you heard anything from Marinette?”

Marinette? Was something wrong with Mari? What had he missed?!

“No, I haven’t heard anything from her since yesterday”.

“What happened with Marinette?” Adrien finally asked.

Alya and Nino quickly shared a look. One Adrien didn’t understand.

“Don’t worry about it dude. But for now, let’s just hope she comes” Nino turned to look at Alya “She’s a tough girl, she’ll be alright” Nino said.

“Yeah, you’re right. Let’s just go to class” Alya said.

Adrien followed his to friends feeling a bit defeated and honestly a bit left out. Why wouldn’t they tell him?

_

Marinette came rushing into class a few minutes after class had begun.

“Sorry I’m late” she mumbled.

She seemed a bit tired and it looked like she had been crying. She sat down and Adrien turned back towards the board, but he couldn’t really focus knowing something was off. He’d have to try and talk to Marinette and ask her what had happen. It felt a bit insensitive, but when Alya and Nino wouldn’t tell him, he’d have to go to the source.

Determined to catch Marinette after school, he resumed taking notes for class.

\-----

As soon as class had ended she packed up her things and was about to leave, but something, or rather someone, stopped her.

“Hey Mari” Adrien said, smilling so sweetly down at her that she almost melted.

“He-Hey Adrien”

Adriens smile merged into something else, as if he was, worried?

“I – um – I just wanted to ask you if you were alright. Alya and Nino both seemed to be worried, but they haven’t told me what’s going on, so…”

_Oh god._

“oh, um, it’s really nothing. There were just some guys who… said something rather condescending to me.”

“What did they say?”

“Adrien, it’s really sweet of you to worry about me, but honestly I – I don’t think you would... It doesn’t really matter so don’t worry about it, but thank you”.

She scurried past him and went to the locker-room, leaving Adrien to his own thoughts.

_

Marinette let her head rest against the cold metal of her locker. It shouldn’t be bothering her so much. It wasn’t the first time and it definitely wouldn’t be the last time either. She leaned back and opened her locker. A small piece of paper fluttered to the ground. She bent down to pick it up and flip it over, only to notice that there was writing on the other side. The writing was messy, but it was written in bold black letters so that there was no mistaking what it said:

**_You don’t belong here. Go back to where you came from._ **

It was obvious who it was from.

The day before two guys had come up to her after school, they didn’t do much at first, but they became more pushy and began saying things like how they were looking for something “exotic”. After she had turned them down they only got worse. Luckily Alya and Nino were nearby and had rushed over when they heard the yelling. It turned out they were from one of the other classes, and they had been suspended from school for a few days because of the incident.

 _Apparently didn’t stop them from leaving this here_  

She could feel the tears that had started to fall down.

_They didn’t even acknowledge me as a human being. To them I’m just “something” to play with._

She crumpled the paper in her hand, feeling frustrated, angry and sad all at once. Her sobs echoed throughout the locker-room, but she didn’t care, she let herself cry.

She should have heard the fluttering of wings. She should have seen what was coming. But she didn’t. Not until the black butterfly landed on the crumpled piece of paper in her hand.

“Hello Repartee, I am hawkmoth” said the voice “I can give you the power to make those who wrong you feel the pain of their own words. And you have to do in return is-“

“No.”

“What?”

“No, I refuse”

“What? You refuse? You’ll let these people get away with dehumanizing you?”

“I not letting them get away. I’m just being the bigger person”.

“What about everyone else who receives the same treatment as you, your family, your friends. Do you really wish to just stand by and watch them be terrorized?”

Marinettes head began to throb violently.

“hah, that’s rich coming from you Hawkmoth. And just so you know, I’m not standing by and watching. I am doing my best everyday and just by going on I am proving them wrong in dehumanizing me. I don’t need prove I am worthy of being here, I know I am, and I definitely don’t need powers show them they are wrong, because I can do that all on my own”.

At this point her head felt as if it filled with lead, throbbing pains that hurts so bad that her eyes began to blur.

“They may have hurt me, but I refuse to let them see my pain. I won’t give them the satisfaction.”

“So what if they don’t see it, they’ll never stop and they will always see you as nothing more than a foreigner. I can help you to make them regret their words”.

Hawkmoth’s voice had intensified, become more demanding and the sound of it scratched the inside of her head.  

”No!” she screamed ”I will never give in to you, no matter what powers you might have to offer me”.

She felt as the paper she held in her hand slowly began to tear as she slumped against the locker, the pain only becoming more and more excruciating, but still willing herself to keep on fighting.

“It doesn’t matter what they say about me, I know who I am and for the love of everything I will not let myself be corrupted by the likes of you”.

As if a link had been broken she slid down the locker as the butterfly, now white as snow, flew off into the distance. The only thing indicating it was ever there in the first place being a tiny pile of what used to be a paper.

She closed her eyes while taking a moment to breathe. It truly didn’t matter. She let herself sit there by the wall for a few moments before having to move. No matter what others thought of her she would still stand tall and keep on moving. But that didn’t mean it doesn’t hurt.

Slowly she began to get up.

\-----

He felt left out.

_What happened to Marinette? And why won’t they tell me? I get that Nino and Alya might just think she has to tell me herself, but Marinette… what was she about to say about me?_

”No!”

As soon as Adrien heard the shout he stopped dead in his tracks. All his previous thoughts forgotten.

”I will never give in to you, no matter what powers you might have to offer me”.

_Wasn’t that Marinette’s voice?_

He pushed the door to the locker-room open and saw Marinette slumped against her locker. Her face scrunched up in pain.

“It doesn’t matter what they say about me, I know who I am and for the love of everything I will not let myself be corrupted by the likes of you”.

He couldn’t see anyone else in the room, but then who was she yelling at?

Before Adrien could ponder on it any further, Marinette slid down the locker as a white butterfly flew away from the ashes by her hand.

_Oh. OH! Wait. How is that possible?!_

Adrien just stood there, not really being able to comprehend what he had just witnessed.

Silence ascended upon the locker-room, only broken by Marinette’s heavy breathing.

After a few moments she got up, but froze as soon as she saw Adrien standing in the doorway.

_Oh shit, I better say something._

“…Hi”

“Hey, Adrien. Um, what are you doing here?”

“Oh, I – um – I came back to get my things. I sort of forgot?” It came out as a question, as if he didn’t know what he was doing there anymore. He awkwardly scratched the back of his head while trying to figure out what to say.

He sighed “I’m sorry”

“What for?”

“I feel like I intruded on something.” Marinette looked pusled, so he continued “I know that you and Alya and Nino didn’t wish to tell me what happened to you, but it has obviously hurt you and… and I just want you to know that if you ever want to talk to me about or just need somebody to listen, I’m here for you, okay?”

He could see her eyes welling up with tears and before he knew it she had wrapped her arms around him. He returned the gesture, stroking her hair in soothing motions and letting her cry.


	2. A moment to breathe - part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien had found Marinette crying in the locker-room while fighting off an akuma that had tried to possess her. What are you supposed to say in this situation?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heeeey ^^ I'm finally back again.  
> I took some time, but I finished the second chapter and I'm really happy to be able to share it with you guys.  
> I hope you enjoy it :3
> 
>  
> 
> Thank you NubLittleWings for helping me when I was feeling like deleting the entire chapter. I probably wouldn't have have posted this chapter if it wasn't for you ^^

Adrien didn’t know what to do of himself. He had so many things he wanted to say to Marinette, but he had no clue how to articulate it. It had already been a few days since he found her crying in the locker-room, but she has yet to tell him what happened to her.

For now, all he knew was that Marinette was hurting. And he wanted to help her; however it’s difficult to help when you don’t even know what’s wrong. Which is why he decided that, for now, he would just be there for her.

 After they had left the locker-room that day, he had escorted her home. She had managed to calm down quite a bit, but she didn’t say a word on the way there. She had looked so vulnerable. Her arms were pressed so firmly against her chest that Adrien had wondered whether it was possible for someone to crush themselves.

When they had entered the bakery he shortly explained the situation to her parents (though leaving out the part with the akuma). Her parents had thanked him before putting their arms around Marinette and leading her upstairs.

 He had tried to talk to her afterwards, but she didn’t seem interested in trying to keep the conversations going. Other than that she seemed to almost be back to her former self, but Adrien could sense that she was kind of… muted. He couldn’t really explain how he knew. Maybe it was because he knew how it felt to hide his feelings and pretend to be okay that he realized, but the others didn’t seem to notice.

\-----

Ladybug sat at perched at the top of the Eiffel tower, her feet dangling over the edge. Her throat felt twisted and her eyes heavy from the weight of unshed tears. Her thoughts drifted while she overlooked the city.

The last couple of days she had been trying to get back to normal, trying to leave this behind her. She wasn’t sure how well her attempt had been, mostly because she couldn’t really look Adrien in the eyes for long. She didn’t worry about what Alya thought of it (she has a crush on Adrien after all), but she feared what Adrien might think of her.

 _I must have looked pathetic in his eyes._ She groaned at the thought, resting her head in her hands.

She didn’t know how much he had seen and she had been too embarrassed to ask him. She may have the courage to face any akuma that comes her way, but to see how Adrien would react if he knew how those guys view her? She couldn’t do it. Of course Marinette knew that Adrien would never look down on her for something like that. Still… to even imagine Adrien viewing her as less than a human made shivers run down her spine. It was worse than the ‘nightmare Adrien’ that Sandboy had caused. But to be frank; it wasn’t fair to Adrien.

_I probably have to talk to him at some point. And I will… just not yet._

A sigh escaped her lips, the fog it created reminding her of the cold.

_Maybe I should go home. Sitting here alone won’t do me any good._

She stood up with a stretch, cast her yoyo towards home and launched herself off the edge.

\-----

 “I just don’t get it Nino. What is that you and Alya know that I am somehow not allowed to know?”

“Dude, you’re totally misunderstanding. It’s not that you’re not “allowed” to know what’s going on, it’s just that the situation that Marinette is in right now is one that Alya and I recognize.”

“How come you’re so sure I won’t understand it as well?”

“… I don’t know how to explain it to you without it coming across the wrong way, but I guess it’s because that in that perspective you’re really lucky. Listen, don’t worry about it. I can’t tell you for sure that Marinette will explain it to you, but what I do know is that this ain’t my story to tell.”

Adrien knew Nino was right; it’s Marinette’s decision whether or not she wants to share and if she didn’t want to, then she didn’t have to. Logically speaking it made sense, but for some reason he still felt sad and left out. He wanted to understand, and he wanted to help, but he also didn’t want to hurt Marinette by pushing her to tell him what had happened. 

“I just want her to be ok...”

Neither of them knew what else to say, so they walked back to class together in companionable silence.

\-----

Marinette sat on one of the benches in the locker-room. It didn’t really bring back happy memories, but at least it was quiet. She looked around the room only to spot her tiny companion.

“Hey Tikki, you have experienced the lives of so many Ladybugs, some of them must have gone through something similar, right?”

“Yes… I have seen it plenty of times. I haven’t ever really understood why it occurs. It always seems to stem from something different, but the hostility and thoughtlessness follow through most of the cases. So yes, multiple Ladybugs and other miraculous holders have been people who faced discrimination”.

“Well, I was just wondering. How did they deal with it?” For some reason she felt herself look away.

“… It’s hard to say really. All of them dealt with it in different ways…”

Marinette’s eyes began to sting as she pulled her legs close to her body. She should have known there wasn’t any easy fix.

“But I will say this; of all my charges I have seen a lot of them evade corruption, but never before have I seen another charge as strong as you. The akuma had already reached you, but you endured the pain and fought through it! I’m so proud of you”.

Marinette smiled at Tikki while the tears slowly trickled down her face.

“Thank you”

The small deity smiled and flew near Marinette to place a gentle kiss on her cheek.

\-----

She was crying; it wasn’t anything like the first time he had found her crying, but even though this time was a lot more muted, it broke him even more knowing she was trying to fight this on her own. With the way she was curled up around herself he wasn’t even sure if she knew he was in the room with her.

“Marinette”

He could hear her short intake of breath.

_Nope, she definitely hadn’t noticed._

To see the tears that spilled from her eyes silently falling, tucked on Adrien’s heartstrings in a way he wasn’t familiar with. She seemed more surprised than anything else, but her expression soon morphed into a timid smile (which seemed rather out of place with the tears still streaming down her face) as she took in who was in the room with her.

She averted her eyes, quickly wiping away the tears with the back of her hand.

He felt himself shifting his weight from one foot to the other. He stood there for a bit, trying hard to find the right words, but came up blank. So instead he sat beside Marinette. Marinette still didn’t look at him, so he let her be for a few minutes.

“What’s wrong Marinette?”

She didn’t answer and kept looking anywhere but at him. The only thing indicating she heard him was the tightening of her jaw.

He let out a sigh, an action which made Marinette peek at him. Adrien noticed and tried to give her a reassuring smile. “If there is anything I can do to help, please let me know”

Marinette’s shoulders slumped ever so slightly; just enough so that most people wouldn’t notice. But Adrien had done it enough time himself to know she felt troubled, and therefore he hastily continued:

“I understand that you don’t wish to tell me what is going on, but please promise me you’ll talk to someone. You’re not alone Marinette. You have so many friends who care about you and would be more than willing to help you if you let them. Remember that.”

Marinette seemed surprised at his sudden request, but the shock on her face was soon replaced with an expression he couldn’t quite place as she let out a sigh.

“You’re right… and I’m sorry for keeping you in the dark.” She looked at him and shrugged “You’re my friend and you’ve only been trying to help me, so I don’t want to keep you at an arm’s length.” She paused for a moment, seeming to calm her nerves. Adrien wanted to say something to comfort her, but he was afraid it might only make her unable to continue. “A few days before you found me in the locker-room some guys had decided to come on to me because I’m a different ethnicity. When I turned them down they became aggressive and Alya and Nino had to cut in before things got worse. It hurt, but I decided not to think too much about it. The day you found me I had discovered a note in my locker that said I should go back to where I came from. It’s not the first time something like this has happened, but it keeps surprising me how much hatred and anger people can feel towards someone they have never meet. And it just… broke me.”

Marinette was shaking ever so slightly. Adrien wasn’t sure whether it was from anger, frustration or if she beginning to cry again.

He didn’t really know what to say to all of this, but there were one question that had been tearing at him.

“How did you get rid of the Akuma?”

Marinette’s eyes widened. “I didn’t know you saw that.”

“I came in when I heard you yelling at someone, but it wasn’t until I saw the Akuma that I realized who you were yelling at.”

Marinette just looked at him. She opened her mouth a couple of times, seemingly at a loss of words.

“I, um, I don’t know how to explain this, but I guess you could say I saw a different solution to my problems than he did.”

Marinette’s words were so filled with conviction, but when looking at her it was clear to see how broken she truly was. Her eyes had become glossy from the tears that had filled her eyes yet again. She took on Hawkmoth and won, but that doesn’t mean she came out unharmed and it definitely did not mean that she could or should face everything that come after on her own. He wanted to wrap her in his arms so badly, but he didn’t want to intrude on her personal space. 

“Uhm, I’m still not the best at these kinds of situations, but you look like you could need a hug”

Marinette looked at him through her tears. She didn’t even say anything, but nodded softly. When Adrien got closer, she moved to stand up. He wrapped his arms around her, feeling how the tension faded from her body. Marinette stretched her arms around him as well and clung onto him, digging her nails into the fabric of his shirt. He could feel her shaking ever so slightly.

“Breathe Marinette” he said as he placed a hand at the back of her head, lightly pulling her closer. The other hand rested on her back to support her and to keep her upright.

They stood there in each other’s embrace for a few seconds before pulling apart. Adrien’s left hand never left her side so that he could keep supporting her weight. She didn’t seem to mind or maybe she hadn’t yet noticed (which was plausible seeing as she was currently wiping away tears before they could take form).

She looked up at him with a smile, only to blush profusely a second later. He didn’t know how to explain her expression, but it was the same look she usually had when she was mixing up her words. He found it kind of cute.

Adrien had really come to feel protective of Marinette. He didn’t know how to explain it or even why he felt like this, but he knew for certain that he couldn’t just stand by and watch when it came to her.

“Marinette…”

She looked up ever so slightly, her eye puffy from all the crying.

“I may not know exactly what those guys said to you, but I want you to know that I think you’re the most amazing girl I have ever met. Even without the power of a miraculous you stood up to Hawkmoth! You’re stronger than anyone else I know. But I think it also means you try to take on the world alone when you don’t have to. You impact so many lives without even noticing and you are loved by so many. So please, don’t take whatever they said to heart.”

He could see her lips began to tremble, and he lifted his hand to grace her cheek with his thumb.  

“It pains me to see you cry like this”.

At those words she blushed, the pink colour dusting her cheeks and her ears.

_…huh_

It was an expression which he had seen countless times, yet until this very moment he had failed to notice how stunning she truly was.

-

Marinette gave a small wave as she left the room and a dopey smile spread across Adrien’s face.

“So” Plagg said while not quite leaving his hiding place in Adrien’s jacket, “finally caught the lovebug for someone other than ‘your lady’.” 

“Plagg, I have told you so many times; Marinette is just…” a friend? That’s what he had meant to say, but he couldn’t get the words out. It felt wrong. Marinette felt like something more, but he couldn’t place the feeling at all. He knew he loved Ladybug and what he felt for Marinette was… different.   

Plagg’s cackling interrupted his thoughts. He had flown from his hiding spot and was now hovering in the air. Adrien glared at him, but that apparently only made Plagg laugh even more. He stomped out of the room, not hearing the words in between the laughter.

“Man, these kids are oblivious.”


	3. A moment to breathe - part 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally Marinette can start going back to her everyday life! The harassers are suspended from shcool, she's finally speaking with Adrien and everything seemes to be looking up.
> 
> However, Hawkmoth has other plans in store for her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A lot of stuff have been going on in my life and I haven't really had the energy to finish this chapter until now. -.-'   
> But I have taken care of most of it and now I'm feeling a lot better. ^.^ So now I'm back and ready to share my work.
> 
> I hope you enjoy it. ^.^
> 
> Thank you to Nub little Wings for helping me once again. ^.^

Marinette gave a small wave as she left the locker-room. The smile that she had gotten in return made her heart flutter. She was so happy she didn’t know what to do with herself. 

The last few days had weighed so heavy on her, and now that she had told Adrien a bit about what happened she felt so much lighter. It wasn’t completely gone from her mind yet, of course it wasn’t, but it felt like a step in the right direction. 

School had already finished for today, so she started to head home. She greeted her parents as she passed them in the bakery and continued towards her room. As soon as she entered her room she threw herself on the divan and buried her face in a pillow. Tikki flew out of the bag and landed besides Marinette, smiling at her charge’s antics.

_Adrien thinks I’m amazing!!!_

Marinette squealed in delight, the sound only dampened by her pillow.  

“Feeling better Marinette?” 

Marinette tilted her head to look at Tikki and sighed happily, the motion making her feel lighter. ”Yeah, it was nice to get a chance to talk it out.” 

Tikki giggled, “I’m glad Marinette”.

Marinette was thrilled that she and Adrien finally had a proper conversation. She was aware that she might not be able to keep up that kind of conversation again, at least not right from the get go. It’s quite hard to change that kind of behaviour after all, but she was happy she got to talk with him. 

Maybe things were starting to look up for her and Adrien.

\-----

Adrien was almost glad that the car ride home put Plagg´s incessant teasing on hold. But at the same time, the quiet atmosphere of the ride gave him time to ponder over his own feelings. He felt so confused and conflicted.

He loved Ladybug and had done so ever since they first faced Hawkmoth together. At first it was just her bravery and quick thinking, but he fell in love time and time again the more he got to know her. Everything from the way she talked, the playful manner she acted around him and just... her. 

Then there was Marinette. She had been one of his first real friends. She was even beginning to talk with him more now! At first he had just been happy that they were becoming closer as friends, but something changed. He was suddenly longing to talk with Marinette more and more, and this urge to protect her was confusing to him. Of course he would protect all his friends, but with Marinette it felt... different, somehow. And now he wasn’t sure what Marinette meant to him.

He placed his head in his hands as he slumped in his seat. He didn’t know his own heart anymore. But the thing that confused him the most was that even though he might have feelings for two completely different people... it still felt right.

\-----

The next morning Marinette didn’t even make it through the school’s front-entrance before being approached by the same two guys who had harassed her. She had been able to see them waiting out front, however she didn’t really have any way to avoid them. She still tried to pass by them, but they quickly blocked her path which forced her to face them. 

“You got me suspended” the first guy said, his voice sounding nothing but accusatory. He loomed over Marinette while glaring daggers at her.

Marinette just looked at him. She didn’t even feel like it was worth trying to argue with him. Not because she couldn’t argue against him, in fact it would be quite simple to do so, but something told her it wasn’t going to get through to him.

Her lack of response only seemed to anger the guys further. 

“Don’t ignore me you bitch!”

She could feel her jaw tighten. She wasn’t afraid, but angry. Not only did they not stop after harassing her the first time and almost causing her to become akumatized, but they also had the audacity to come after her like this. 

She could feel Tikki nudging her leg through the bag and calmed herself down. They weren’t going to get to her. 

“Excuse me, but I have to get to class”, Marinette walked past them. She could hear them yelling something after her, but ignored it and kept walking.  Just being near people like them was enough to make a heavy weight settle in her stomach, so she was more than happy to get away from them. 

\-----

Adrien waved and smiled at Marinette as she walked into class (only a few minutes late this time), and she gave a small smile in return as she scurried to her seat while apologizing to the teacher for being late. He tried to ignore the tiny flip his stomach did at the mere sight of her. 

The remainder of the lesson was relatively quiet. That is, until an Akuma broke down the door. 

_Not again..._

Adrien was already on his feet; ready to help the others get out of here and find a place to transform. It wasn’t the first time an akuma had appeared during class after all. But there was something that felt different about this akuma. It was a boy, around his age if he had to guess, and he seemed to be wearing an equally ridiculous costume as all the other akumas. But the air around him was different, more hostile... And his eyes were focused on Marinette. 

Adrien felt the familiar surge of adrenalin as he ran towards Marinette. But the akuma was faster, the akuma shot at Adrien and in his momentum to get to Marinette, he didn’t have any time to dodge. The blond boy was hit square in the chest by something and for a second all he could see was a dark red flame engulfing him, but it didn’t burn... He fell from the impact and he could hear the entire class gasp while Marinette and a few others screamed his name. 

The Akuma grabbed a hold of Marinette and smashed through the window. All Adrien could do was watch as the akuma sprinted across the rooftops, taking Marinette with him. 

**_You’re weak!_** Adrien was startled at the voice now ringing inside his head. **_You couldn’t even save Marinette._** The voice was painfully loud and made Adrien wince not only because of the harsh words it spoke, but the volume of it as well. 

_Yes I can. I can still save Marinette and I will._

Adrien ran out the class and found an unoccupied room where he could transform, the voice still ringing inside his head with insults. Plagg didn’t even manage to get a single word out before being absorbed into the miraculous and soon Chat Noir stood in Adrien’s place. 

He followed the path of destruction hoping it would lead him to wherever the akuma held Marinette captive. There were words scattered across the city; big blocks of letters that crushed everything. He saw people on the street clutching at their heads in pain while others looked on in confusion and fear at the state of those inflicted.  

**_Worthless! Because of your incompetence as a hero people are suffering._ **

He had to try and ignore the voice in order to save Marinette and everyone else. His mind felt like it was tearing apart. His own thoughts and the voice seemed to be struggling for dominance. Although he himself was preparing for battle, his mind seemed to have become a battlefield in itself.

\-----

Marinette was at a loss of what to do. It seemed the akuma had brought her to some abandoned storage-building, but she didn’t know how to escape and there was no way for her to transform (Tikki had managed to hide somewhere). Her captor, whom she estimated to be one of the two guys from earlier and who now called himself ‘Mind-game’, never left her side. The Akuma didn´t seem to target anyone else specifically, so for now she could focus on her own predicament.  

The outline of a purple butterfly hovered in front of the akuma’s face and from what she could tell it didn’t look like the Mind-game was agreeing with whatever Hawkmoth wanted him to do. Whether that was good or bad she had yet to find out. 

The akuma neared Marinette and she backed away as far as her restrains let her, the cuffs gnawing at her wrist in the process, but the akuma soon stood towering over her. 

“So, Marinette” his voice filled with venom as he spoke her name, “Apparently Hawkmoth has taken interest in you”. She felt herself pale. That definitely couldn’t mean anything good.

Mind-game’s hands began to glow a dark orange with a hint of red. The glow seemed like some sort of flame, but she couldn’t feel any heat emanating from his hand. He looked down at the flame, idly watching it as he continued talking. 

 “He says you somehow evaded an akuma. Mind telling me about that?” Although phrased as a question Marinette could easily sense the underlying threat (kind of hard to ignore actually). When she didn’t answer he looked at her, his eyes burning with pure hatred.

“I do have my own plans for you, but it will have to wait for now. After all, Hawkmoth was so kind to give me these powers, so the least I can do is to return the favour, right?”

Every word that left his mouth sent shivers down her spine. She really didn’t want to know what either of them had in store for her.

\-----

Chat Noir overlooked the scene. He couldn’t barge in without a plan. He had to be sure he could take down the akuma without Marinette getting dragged even more into it than she already was or hurt in any way. Ladybug still hadn’t showed up, and he was beginning to feel antsy. The fact that he still had a voice telling him everything he did wrong wasn’t really helping either. His brows were furrowed and he his tail twisted around a nearby pipeline.

**_You’re hopeless without Ladybug! You’ll end up screwing up and letting Marinette get hurt._ **

The voice kept going, never even giving him a second to breathe. His thoughts and the voice oftentimes overlapping with one another. It was almost crippling. He shut his eyes as the pain of the voice grew more intense. 

“I know you’re there.”

Chat noir snapped his eyes open at the sound of Mind-game’s voice. 

He was still hidden, but Mind-game must somehow have realized that he was there.

He jumped down. There didn’t seem to be much of a point in hiding anymore. At the very least it didn’t seem like a surprise attack was an option anymore.

  _I shouldn’t just wait around for Ladybug to show up anyway._

He had to save Marinette no matter what. There was no time for him to doubt himself.

“Oh, how lovely” Mind-game said as he mockingly clasped his hands together, “the **sidekick** decided to show up.”

Chat clenched his hands into fist, but soon let the anger and tension go. Mind-game was trying to get inside his head and Chat refused to let him. And besides, he knew he was more than a sidekick. Ladybug made sure that he was aware of his importance in their partnership. 

Mind-game cocked his head to the side; obviously trying to eye out the effect of his words.

Chat tried not to smirk, but he could feel the corners of his mouth twitch. Annoying others and getting under their skin was kind of his expertise after all. 

“Well don’t mind me then” he said as he calmly sauntered towards the akuma.

Mind-game seemed taken aback by Chat’s reaction.

Only when Chat got close did Mind-game react. It looked almost comical how Mind-game jumped away from Chat, while the black cat hero himself looked completely at ease.

“Don’t worry, you can put your mind at ease. I don’t mean to hurt you.” Chat kept emphasizing his words, making sure that Mind-game would catch on to the taunts. And he had to admit; it was quite fun to see how Mind-game almost flinched at each pun.

_He really shouldn’t play games if he can’t handle being played._

Frustration seemed to overtake Mind-game. “I can tell you have already been hit by my flames, but I guess you still need some sense knocked into you”

Mind-game leapt forward while shooting flaming words after Chat.

“ **Bold words** coming from someone in that kind of costume.”

Chat found it mildly amusing when he noticed that a lot of the ‘word-projectiles’ seemed to be cuss words.

“Mind your manners young man” he said with his best ‘reprimanding-adult-voice’ (although he was pretty sure he was doing a terrible job a keeping a straight face), “You should be more mindful of others.”

As Mind-game shot yet another ‘word-projectile’ after him he couldn’t help but ad:

“What? Are you already at your wits end?”

As their dance around each other dragged on it became clear Mind-game was getting more and more aggravated. Even the flames that surrounded the ‘word-projectiles’ became darker and darker in colour.

“You’re doing this mind-over-matter thing wrong. Matter refers to your body, not everything around it”. 

He tried to keep up with the puns and his taunting to make Mind-game move further and further away from Marinette. Mind-game didn’t seem to notice what he was up to. As soon as he had enough leeway he called forth his cataclysm, his hand simmering from the destructive energy, and slid across the floor towards Marinette. Mind-game finally seemed to have caught on to what he was doing and tried to get to him, but Chat had already used his cataclysm on nearby pillar supporting parts of the roof. The rubbles landed between the akuma and himself thereby severing off Mind-game’s access to him and Marinette. 

Chat rushed to Marinette’s side, hoping to take advantage of this sudden standstill in the fight.

He moved to take off Marinette’s restraints but was surprised to find nothing except words inking her skin. The words were so small it was hard to read, but there were so many it still formed a thick black line around her wrist. Some of them read things like ‘cuffs’ or ‘trapped’, but others seemed to read along the lines of ‘painful’. 

_Now that’s just cruel._

But that just begs the question; how do you remove cuffs that aren’t really there?! But he had to try while the akuma was still trapped behind the rubbles. 

_The akuma calls himself Mind-game so maybe, just maybe, it’s all her head... so I guess he did have an understanding of mind-over-matter after all._

“Marinette, I need you to listen to me: There are no cuffs.” She blinked at him, her confusion evident to see. “It’s one of the akuma’s powers. I need you to trust me.”

\-----

The resolve in his eyes was more than enough to convince her. She already trusted Chat Noir with her life so why wouldn’t she trust him now. She decided to fight against the apparently imaginative restraints, she had to keep reminding herself of what Chat had told her; there aren’t any cuffs. So she kept fighting even as the gnawing pain seemed to grow worse. And then it stopped. She brought her hands in front of her and saw the words on her wrist slowly fading. All that remained was a red line of irritated skin.

She looked up at Chat who looked relieved, only for his expression to morph into one of worry a second later as the akuma seemed to be breaking through the barrier.

She heard a beeping sound coming from Chat’s ring. She didn’t have time to comment on it before Chat took her hand, pulled her up and started running. Not only did they have to get away before the akuma came after them, but Chat Noir had already used his cataclysm; meaning he didn’t have much time left before he transformed back. Chat held on to her hand as he ran towards the exit.

\------

Outside of the building it was clear to see the damage the akuma had managed to inflict. 

He didn’t have much of a choice anymore. If he didn’t hide now, his transformation would wear off and Marinette, the akuma and Hawkmoth would discover his identity. On the other hand, he couldn’t leave Marinette to fend off the akuma by herself. Of course he knows that Marinette is a strong person and knows how to handle herself, but he didn’t want to let Marinette get in harm’s way. 

He scanned the area for any possible hiding places for Marinette. He couldn’t leave her alone, but it was also risky for him to bring her with him. He could feel sweat running down his neck. He didn’t know what to do.

He scanned the area, desperately looking for a place to hide. There were still a lot of people in the streets and a lot of them were now looking at him. He had to get away before more people started to gather seeking help. He wanted to help everybody, but with his transformation soon to come undone he wasn’t exactly fighting-fit.

He grabbed a hold of Marinette and extended his baton, lifting them from the ground. He found a small space amongst the roofs where he would be able to transform. It wasn’t the most optimal hiding spot, but they would have to make do until he was able to transform again. When they had landed Chat opened his mouth to speak; intending to ask Marinette to close her eyes or turn around before he let go of his transformation. But he had realised too late that his five minutes already were up.

\-----

She tried to look away, she really did, but as the blinding light of his transformation faded away she couldn’t help but notice the oh so familiar outfit he was wearing. She could deny the familiarity of his voice and his figure and shrug it off as her being with Chat so often, but as an aspiring designer she prided herself in recognizing different outfits. And with this high-quality outfit there was only one person that came to mind. 

“Adrien...”

The flinch he gave in response was all the confirmation she needed. She hadn’t even meant to say the name out loud, but she hadn’t been able to help herself. She lifted her gaze and met the emerald green eyes of non-other than Adrien Agreste.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mind-game  
> -The akumaticed object is a marker. Before becoming an akuma he had planned to vandalise Marinette's locker.   
> \- The "flame" that Mind-game uses is his way of "getting under people's skin". The one inflicted with the flames will be subjected to their insecurities, fears and more through a voice in their head. The colour represents the intensity of the voice. So red is more intens than orange and so on. The writing that is both in cursive and fat is the voice.  
>  \- The writing seen on Marinette is an abilty to make people believe in something that it isn't there. So in Marinette's case; she is convinced she has restraints around her hands. This ability can be disrupted if other people make the inflicted aware that it isn't real. This ability only works if Mind-game actually touches the 'victim'. Others would be able to see the ink flow onto their skin, but the 'victims' themselves will see whatever Mind-game wants them to see.   
> \- Word-gun. This one is simple; he shoots words. The flame and word-gun can be combined. It's also what hit Adrien in the chest; he just didn't take the time to figure out what hit him.   
> \- He can't read minds, but he can sense negative thoughts (which includes the voice he inflicts). He could therefore sense Chat when he was nearby. It doesn't work over longer distances.


End file.
